Daijiworld Media Network - Nilgiris

Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu), Oct 24: A government bus driver was killed after his vehicle was buried under a landslide near Parliyar in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district, minutes after around 50 passengers were evacuated following a tyre puncture.

The deceased driver has been identified as Janagaraj. Rescue personnel confirmed his death after recovering his body from beneath the debris following a prolonged operation. Earlier reports had suggested that he had been rescued safely, but officials subsequently clarified that he had remained trapped inside the bus and had died.

The bus conductor, Kesavan, who was also caught in the landslide, was rescued with injuries by Fire and Rescue Services personnel and shifted to hospital.

Recounting the incident, Kesavan said there were no passengers aboard the bus when the hillside collapsed.

“Only the driver and I were in the bus. Trees began falling across the road one after another. As we tried to stop the bus safely, we were caught in the landslide,” he said.

The bus was travelling from Coimbatore to Ooty when it suffered a tyre puncture shortly before reaching the affected stretch near Parliyar. Around 50 passengers were travelling in the vehicle before the breakdown.

Following the puncture, the passengers were evacuated from the bus. Within minutes of their departure, a major landslide struck the hill road, bringing down trees, rocks and earth and burying the vehicle under the debris. The timely evacuation prevented the passengers from being caught in the disaster.

However, the driver and conductor remained aboard the bus when the landslide occurred and were trapped in the collapse. Emergency teams launched a rescue operation and managed to bring the injured conductor to safety. Efforts to reach the driver continued amid the accumulated debris, but rescuers eventually recovered his body.

The confirmation of Janagaraj’s death corrected the earlier reports of a successful rescue and established that the incident had claimed one life.

Meanwhile, rescue and clearance teams continued removing fallen trees, boulders and soil from the affected stretch to restore traffic on the hill road. The clearance work was being carried out on an urgent basis.

The incident left the government bus buried under debris along the route connecting Coimbatore and Ooty. While the evacuation following the tyre puncture saved the passengers from being caught in the landslide, the two crew members were unable to escape before the hillside collapsed.